As the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers plow ahead with their efforts to reshape immigration, trade and environmental policy, officials in Imperial County have struck a cautious tone.
At their regular meeting Tuesday, the five-member county Board of Supervisors met with lobbyists from Paragon Governmental Relations, the firm that pushes the county’s priorities in Washington. They discussed the federal government’s latest moves ahead of the county’s annual upcoming budget talks.
On one hand, county leaders were optimistic about the White House’s announcements about increasing critical mineral production in the U.S. They see it as an opportunity to spotlight the Imperial Valley’s vast lithium reserves, which many hope will transform the region into a national hub for battery technology.
On the other hand, some county officials are troubled by the sweeping cuts Republican members of Congress have proposed for federal programs like Medicaid, the nation’s low-cost health care plan, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which helps people afford fresh produce and other groceries.
Many Imperial County residents rely on the two programs, which are known as Medi-Cal and Calfresh in California. More than half of the county’s residents have health insurance through Medi-Cal, according to the UC Berkeley Labor Center, and 27% of residents get help from Calfresh.
Supervisor Jesus Eduardo Escobar also raised concerns about the impacts of the White House’s immigration crackdown. Specifically, they worry it could be restricting border crossings between Mexicali and Calexico and limiting the number of people buying goods and paying sales taxes in Imperial County.
Joe Krahn, who works for the county’s lobbying firm Paragon Government Relations, said they had made it a priority to push back on cuts to Medicaid and SNAP in Congress.
“We are very aggressively lobbying on this issue,” Krahn told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday.
Hasan Sarsour, another Paragon lobbyist, said the firm was excited about support from the White House for the county’s lithium industry. Sarsour said they had met several times with the Department of Energy and the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.
“There's a lot of interest there,” Sarsour said.
Paragon lobbies for a number of clients in Congress, including several other county governments from California.
The discussion comes as county leaders are also preparing for their annual budget talks.
Imperial County’s budget has grown steadily in recent years. Last year, supervisors approved a $749 million budget. The county also had nearly $20 million in reserve funds as of last year, according to budget documents.
County budgets are typically adopted by June 30, though state law allows counties to delay a final budget vote until Oct. 2. Last year, Imperial County released its proposed budget in mid-June and adopted a final budget in September.
